Captain America Almost Had a U.S. Agent-Inspired Uniform in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

When all was said and done, Chris Evans’ costume in Avengers: Infinity Warwas basically his costume in Captain America: Civil War if he hadn’t, like, washed it for three years. It was dirty and ripped, and the star on the chest was gone. It was a cool choice, but not one that was made easily or lightly. Marvel’s design team went through many options before settling on that decision.

Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding (who’s an awesome follow on Instagram, by the way) just posted one of the alternate Cap costumes they conceived, and it will be immediately familiar to Marvel zombies. This version would have maintained the whole Evans beard vibe, but instead of the grunge Cap look would have gone for a uniform that evoked the classic U.S. Agent costume from Marvel Comics:

For the unfamiliar: Cap tossing down his shield and walking away from Iron Man at the end of Civil War is very reminiscent of a few different comics storylines where Steve Rogers quit being Captain America for a while. One of the most famous instances came in the mid-’80s, when he gave up his shield and adopted the new costumed identity of “The Captain” with a black, red, and white outfit and shield. Months later, Rogers resumed his work as Captain America, while his temporary replacement as Cap, John Walker, claimed the Captain costume and made it his own, calling himself “U.S. Agent.”

Here’s a pic of Steve Rogers in the U.S. Agent gear:

Just as they’ve done with Captain America’s other costumes, Meinerding and the Marvel team did a terrific job translating something very outlandish into a more wearable and functional concept, while keeping enough of the visual touches so that the inspiration is still clearly visible. Grunge Cap really suited Infinity War and the themes of that movie, but this costume is really cool as well. It’s kind of a bummer we never got to see it onscreen.